Coverage continues on CTMirror.org

With the end of the election season, and with all of the state’s votes counted, our election blog and data portal will transition from live coverage to an archive. This site will continue to house our reporting leading up to, during and immediately after the historic election on Nov. 8.

The Mirror will continue to follow the election’s impact on Connecticut through our in-depth coverage of the state, including its education, health care and environmental policy; its politics and fiscal health; and its interests in Washington.

All precincts reporting, a week after Election Day

The only unknown race at this point is in is for the 53rd district seat in the State House, which is to be recounted because it was close. The results are still considered unofficial until the secretary of the state releases official results.

This site's interactive results pages are based upon the data from the Office of the Secretary of the State, so we've been eagerly watching the number of precincts reporting tick up since last week.

Nationwide, pollsters and prognosticators have taken a beating for incorrectly concluding Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was more likely to win the overall election. Though Clinton is expected to win the popular vote when all the vote counts are finalized, she lost the electoral college to Republican Donald Trump.

However, FiveThirtyEight, perhaps the most visible news site that ventured into predicting the likelihood of presidential and Senate election results, pretty much nailed it for Connecticut.

Predicting a Clinton win in Connecticut wasn't a stretch; the traditionally blue state isn't considered a swing state, but FiveThirtyEight projected the margin in each race, and it got pretty close.

The state's site reports president-elect Donald Trump received 41 percent in the state and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton received 55 percent. That's the same margin the Associated Press reports. The AP's results are used by most large news organizations, such as the New York Times.

FiveThirtyEight, an ESPN publication formerly owned by the Times, predicted Clinton would get 52.8 percent of votes in the state and Trump would receive 40.2. The site's predictive model uses a mix of polls weighted by a number of factors and also factors in demographics.

The state's data and the AP also align in reporting that Democratic incumbent Richard Blumenthal received 63 percent of the vote and Dan Carter received 35 percent.

FiveThirtyEight predicted the Senate margin between Richard Blumenthal and Dan Carter would be 61.4 for Blumenthal and 35.9 percent for Carter.

CT voter participation rates increased in 2016 compared to 2012

Voter turnout this year fell across the country for this past election but not in Connecticut. Trend CT estimates that about 76 percent of active voters participated in this year’s elections. That doesn’t exceed 2008’s record of 78.1 percent when President Barack Obama faced off against John McCain, but does pass the 2012 mark of 73.8 percent.

CT election autopsy: Trump expands map

Questions lingered before Tuesday’s election about whether the “Trump effect” or “Malloy effect” would carry more weight at the polls in the minds of Connecticut voters.

After a night of big gains in the state legislature, Republicans say the answer is clear: The unpopularity of Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy outweighed any negative effects from President-elect Donald J. Trump at the top of the ticket.

State Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano went as far as to say Trump was a net plus for Republican candidates.

With Obamacare’s future in doubt, officials urge people to keep signing up

Come January, the nation will have a president and Congress that have pledged repeatedly to repeal Obamacare. But in the meantime, there’s a sign-up period going on for people to buy coverage through the insurance exchanges created by the health law. So what happens now?

Clinton calls Trump to congratulate him on victory

Hillary Clinton conceded the presidency to Donald Trump in a phone call early Wednesday morning, a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised to make her the nation's first female president right up until Election Day.

Legal recreational marijuana wins in Mass.

State Senate results are in

Republicans made stunning gains in state legislative races Tuesday to force a likely 18-18 tie in the Senate and narrow the Democratic majority in House, overcoming a Democratic tide at the top of the ticket that carried Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal to victory in Connecticut.

Contemplating his future....

After looking at a TV celebration marking Donald Trump's increasingly strong election night performance, victorious U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal promised not to let political affiliation get in the way of progress.

Latest updates on electoral map results

Clinton carries CT amid voter angst

While Connecticut voters backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, one of the most contentious presidential races in modern history polarized residents on both sides of the debate.

By 9 p.m., polls had closed in Connecticut and in 39 other states, as well as in the District of Columbia. Even with Connecticut’s seven electoral votes projected to be in Clinton’s hands, several of the key “battleground” states still were undecided and the race for president remained too close to call.

And while Connecticut voters turned out in high numbers expected to approach 75 percent, some voters here reflected national polls showing they weren’t excited about either presidential contender, and – in some cases – repulsed by both.

Presidential electoral map update

Four out of five House of Representatives called

With a small percentage of the vote in, four of Connecticut members of the U.S. House of Representatives have been declared winners on Election Night.

According to projections from several major news organizations, Reps. John Larson, D-1st District, Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District and Jim Himes coasted to re-election with 11 percent or less of the vote counted.

The only race not called yet is the one between Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District and her challenger, Republican Clay Cope, the first selectman of the town of Sherman.

Which states Clinton and Trump have won so far

Donald Trump has already lost his electoral lead after The Associated Press called additional state results. Clinton has been projected to win Delaware, Illinois DC, Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. While Trump has won Oklahoma, Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Flexer, French trade barbs as votes are cast

As voters streamed into the Mansfield Community Center Tuesday morning, state Sen. Mae Flexer, a Killingly Democrat, pounced when asked whether Donald Trump might be affecting her opponent's chances in the race.

"I think that [John] French's comments in support of Trump were deeply disturbing, especially when he said that the comments that Mr. Trump made on the Access Hollywood video were acceptable for high school students," Flexer said. "It's never acceptable for anyone to joke about sexual assault."

Mae Flexer

French, her Republican challenger, responded with a jab of his own later in the afternoon outside the Elks Club in Windham, saying Flexer's attempts to distance herself from Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy have been disingenuous. He said Flexer votes in lockstep with Malloy's agenda.

"You just have to look at the record to see none of this is true," French said. "She's out there absolutely lying to the people here, and she does a whole different story when she's up in Hartford."

The 29th District race is a rematch of the 2014 campaign, where Flexer bested French by 520 votes. The tone of this year's race has been deeply personal, with both candidates launching attacks in the final weeks of the campaign.

French has worked to tie Flexer to Malloy throughout the campaign. He said he believes the state's unpopular governor is "hugely" affecting the race. But Flexer disagreed, and said Malloy won't be a factor.

John French

"I think I have a strong track record of standing up to Gov. Malloy when it is necessary to meet the interests of northeastern Connecticut," Flexer said. "And my opponent's attempts to say otherwise are not going to work."

French also criticized what he said was Flexer's courtship of President Obama's endorsement, which she received this past weekend.

"Well, that's about as good as me having Abraham Lincoln give me an endorsement by way of the Ouija board," French said.

Obama's endorsement of Flexer touted her as "a candidate who has my back and yours."

"This election isn’t just about defeating extreme Republican candidates, it’s also about electing strong Democrats, like Mae Flexer, who will fight to defend the progress we’ve made over the past eight years," Obama said in a statement.

Somers, Bowles, hear different messages from CT voters

It’s not that Heather Somers and Tim Bowles heard radically different messages from Connecticut voters.

But the candidates in one of the most crucial swing districts in the battle to control the state Senate — who both criss-crossed southeastern Connecticut to meet voters Tuesday — didn’t exactly read the public will the same way either.

The 18th Senatorial District candidates, battling for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, agreed that voters are thrown by the state of politics in general.

But Somers, former Groton town mayor and the Republican Party’s 2014 nominee for lieutenant governor, said voters were focused solely on the controversial race for the White House.

Bowles talks with Laurie Beck of Griswold

“I found the citizens not only wanted to talk to me about Connecticut,” Somers said, “but their comments seemed to be resoundingly similar” They are concerned about taxes, the economy and the financial crisis facing the state.”

And many voters underlined their point by citing their plans to leave Connecticut after their next birthday, college graduation or some other life milestone. One of the most common pledges, Somers repeated, was “‘If I could sell my house, I’m out of here.’”

Somers spoke with The Mirror in between greeting voters at the Fitch High School in Groton.

But while the former Groton mayor said voters’ motivation was a frustration with Democratic control of Connecticut’s executive and legislative branches since 2011, Bowles believes the public concern comes from a different place.

“People are so fed up with politics in general because they believe we need to be working in a bipartisan way,” Bowles said while greeting voters outside of the Griswold Town Hall.

Both parties, as well as special interest groups, targeted the 18th District race, which was not considered a sure thing for either party.

Heather Somers

“It was far too negative,” said Bowles, adding that there was negativity on both sides of the political aisle. “Unfortunately, because it was a targeted race, we did not talk enough about the issues.”

The former representative, who served in the House in 2013 and 2014, said he wanted more discussion about environmental issues, including Connecticut’s role in combating global warming and improving the state’s readiness for extreme storms.

Bowles, who secured passage of a measure during his House tenure creating regional councils to coordinate human service programs, said the preservation to protect Connecticut’s social safety net deserved more attention as well.

“We need to get all parties to the table,” he added. “People do not like the idea of constant fighting.”

Some local candidates say the presidential election has overshadowed other races, but to Mike Winkler, a town councilman from Vernon running for the state House, it had one benefit: When he started knocking on doors June 13, no one said it was too early.

“I’m persistent, but I’m not very fast,” he said, explaining why he started earlier than candidates typically do in town.

The issues voters often wanted to discuss: The bad candidates for president. Taxes. And schools.

As Winkler stood outside Rockville High School, a man walked up and shook his hand. “Thanks for visiting my apartment. I wasn’t home,” the man said.

“I even knocked on the apartments. They’re not used to that,” Winkler said after the man left to vote.

Winkler is a Democrat running for the seat being vacated by Claire Janowski, a fellow Democrat who campaigned for him. Both Winkler and his opponent, Republican Jim Tedford, are members of the Vernon Town Council, and both are union activists.

Janowski, who said she’s been involved in campaigns since she was a Girl Scout and marched in a parade and threw candy for John F. Kennedy in 1960, said she can’t recall an election like this year’s presidential race. Many voters are worried about what will happen. Even so, she said, they tend to be confident at the local level. “They know people at the local level,” she said.

Janowski was surprised by how high the turnout was Tuesday. At Rockville High School, 300 to 350 people voted every hour, an elections official said. Janowski said she expected a good result for Democrats locally and for Clinton – although she added, “That’s the one that worries me the most.”

Murphy sees disgust with campaign turning into action at the polls

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy stopped by Rockville High School, where state House candidate Mike Winkler was greeting voters, at 3:30 Tuesday afternoon. He brought news of high turnout in Manchester – where he figures most of the voters are Democrats.

“The big question was would people’s disgust with the tone of the election turn into apathy or action?” Murphy said. His impression was that the answer to that is action – in Connecticut and other states where he’s recently campaigned – New Hampshire, Ohio and Florida.

Of course, he added, it’s possible some of the turnout comes from Trump voters who haven’t participated in past elections.

Murphy noted that it’s been an unusual year in Connecticut, with no high-profile state election. Even so, he said, there are lots of volunteers in the Democratic Party headquarters.

His predictions?

A big win for Hillary in Connecticut, 52 Democratic members of the U.S. Senate, and a comfortable Clinton victory nationally.

To him, there’s another big question: “If Trump loses, what does he say tonight?”

He added: We need to find a way to bring people together – we can’t have 45 percent of the country believing the president should be in jail instead of the White House.

Discuss, no; vote, yes

Eric Avrumson showed up to vote for Trump in Hartford’s liberal West End, where he says the Donald’s support is easy to measure.

“I’m the one,” he said.

(One assumes he was exaggerating. One of the voters ahead of him was Steve Bonafonte, a Trump delegate and a law partner of Justin Clark, a Trump campaign staffer. Bonafonte declined, however, to chat on the record.)

Avrumson, 35, wore a red baseball cap with what, at least at first glance, seemed to be Trump’s go-to slogan. But the white letters in the familiar font actually said, “Make Montauk Great Again.”

Avrumson shows off his Make Montauk Great Again cap

It was a souvenir from a party. The moderators didn’t make an issue of him wearing the hat as he voted.

Avrumson, a health-care consultant, said he is a registered Democrat and social liberal, but he is a fiscal conservative.

“Taxes are going to go up if Hillary is elected, not just on the wealthy, but across the board,” he said.

One of Avrumson’s fellow voters was less passionate about voting.

Hernan LaFontaine, 82, a scarred veteran of the political wars — he is a former Hartford school superintendent and a Democratic city councilman — said he found it healthier to disengage this angriest of elections.

“My family would get into it, and I’d leave the room,” he said. “They’d say, ‘Where are you going?’ ”

Polls show the race in battleground states have tightened in the last 10 days. On Tuesday, they showed the presidential candidates running neck-in-neck in New Hampshire and Florida. But Clinton may not need those states if she wins all traditionally "blue" states like Connecticut and Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Wisconsin, which are leaning Democratic this year.

The Center for Politics also predicted the Senate would be split, 50-50 between the Republican and Democratic parties, making the next vice president the tie-breaker in that chamber.

Courtney says CT voters are looking for security

2nd District Congressman Joe Courtney, a Vernon Democrat, says this year’s healthy turnout in Connecticut might mean something very different than it has in past years.

The former state representative acknowledged that the contentious presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has left plenty of his constituents somewhat dejected about politics in general.

But considering that early signs have voter turnout similar to the robust numbers Connecticut achieved in the 2012 and 2008 presidential contests, “this year’s turnout kind of speaks volumes,” Courtney said while greeting voters early Tuesday afternoon outside of Fitch High School in Groton.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney

The 2nd District comprises most of eastern Connecticut, which has a larger share of unaffiliated voters than most other sections of the state.

And Courtney said those voters are motivated to come out by “issues of security” but not just national security. “It’s also about jobs and the economy,” he said. “People just feel insecure.”

Courtney said he believes voters also feel insecure because of the political gridlock that has plagued Capitol Hill. “I think voters are asking, ‘How do we get some kind of normal process back in our democratic institutions?’”

"Go do it"

A business owner stopped Robin Green in the parking lot of the restaurant where she went for breakfast. Green said he told her Connecticut is a mess, that the state needs to control taxes and spending.

“Go do it,” he said.

Green is not yet an elected official, but for her, Election Day carries little suspense: She’s unopposed in seeking the open state House seat representing Andover, Bolton, Hebron and Marlborough. Incumbent Gayle Mulligan is not seeking re-election.

Robin Green

Green, a Republican, owns three Discovery Zone Learning Centers and previously worked in nonprofits.

Throughout the campaign, Green said, voters have mostly been concerned about the economy. She said she gets few questions about the top of the ticket. “Our state is in such a mess that people need to be paying attention to what’s going on,” she said.

A confident Trump voter

One man who showed up at Bolton Town Hall with a Trump sticker was voting for the first time in 25 years, First Selectman Bob Morra said. To him, it was a sign of the enthusiasm for the election.

Whatever their motivation, a big chunk of Bolton voters showed up at the polls: By 11:40 a.m., 1,563 people had cast ballots in a town with 3,412 active voters.

“I think Trump is going to win,” Morra’s wife, Paula, said – a confidence bolstered by what she termed her addiction – Fox News.

Trump wasn’t her first choice. She didn’t like the negativity of the campaign and she didn’t approve of everything he did. But she felt he was better for the country than Hillary Clinton, who she said she had researched. “I have a problem with people who lie,” she said.

Paula and Bob Morra.

Bob Morra called Trump “the lesser of two evils.” But, he said, “I think Washington has no sense of reality of what America is all about.” In particular, he said, small businesses and the middle class have struggled over the past eight years. A veteran, he was appalled by the condition of VA hospitals and treatment of veterans. And he thinks the nation needs to get back to a stance that allows it to be viewed as the policeman of the world. “If you take a policeman out of a troubled neighborhood, it doesn’t get better,” he said.

Morra said he agreed with the concept and goals of the federal health law that passed in 2010, but he called the methodology a failure, and said those in charge need to have the courage to go back and fix it. A Clinton administration wouldn’t be likely to do more than tweak it, Morra said.

While Morra was not thrilled by the presidential candidates, he had decidedly different views on the local elections. Although he’s a Republican, he considers Sen. Steve Cassano, a Democrat seeking re-election, a friend, even though he disagrees with how Cassano votes. And he noted that he’s worked with U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, another Democrat, for more than 30 years. Still, he hopes his party takes the state House of Representatives and can help to control state spending.

Talk of voting, healing, in Cheshire

Woody Dawson stood as a silent sentinel for Donald J. Trump outside Cheshire High School, where the school’s raucous Young Democrats’ club greeted voters with signs touting Hillary Clinton for president, Elizabeth Esty for Congress and Liz Linehan for state House.

“Nobody from the Republican Town Committee would hold this sign,” Dawson said, holding a Trump Pence lawn sign. “That’s sad.”

Joe Falvey, left, and Woody Dawson.

Joe Falvey stood nearby with a sign for his father, Andy Falvey, the Republican competing with Linehan for an open state House seat. He has his own history with Linehan: He lost a close race to her for the Cheshire council three years ago.

His father is voting for Trump, but the unconventional GOP candidate for president has been a complicating presence for down-ballot Republican candidates. Dawson is a long-time activist, but some of the new voters Trump has attracted aren’t saying if their newfound interest in politics goes beyond Trump.

When door-knocking, Falvey’s campaign workers noticed that the owners of houses with Trump lawn signs did not appear on their list of Republicans and unaffiliated with a history of voting. They’ll knock on those doors, with mixed results.

“It’s hard to get a read,” Falvey said, leaning on a sign he’d been holding since before dawn. He blinked hard and said, “I think it might be time for lunch.”

The late-morning voters included Esty, a Democrat seeking her third term representing the 5th Congressional District, and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy. Linehan and Sen. Dante Bartolomeo, D-Meriden, each in a close race, greeted them. Linehan laughed and thanked her for her vote.

Esty, who hit her first polling place at 6:01 a.m. in Danbury, said turnout seemed solid to heavy across the state, especially among women — a sign of a good day for Democrats in Connecticut.

“Frankly, there was some concern on the Democratic side that we might not have as high engagement,” Esty said. “We knew there was high engagement on the Trump side. But there’s very high engagement. I’ve got to say a lot of women, a lot of women, I’m hearing from a lot of women who are excited, see this as a historic election.”

David C. Schrumm, a Republican former councilman, heckled Murphy as he departed the polling place about his vote for Obamacare.

“You still didn’t read the bill,” Schrumm said.

Murphy told him he needed new talking points.

Schrumm’s wife rolled her eyes.

Esty said the country would need to heal after the polls close.

“That’s really the message for everyone,” Esty said. “This has been a challenging election, and the country is going to have to heal afterwards.”

Bartolomoeo wouldn’t mind seeing a little healing, but she’ll settle for a clear result. She unseated Republican Len Suzio in 2012, defended her seat against him in a 2014 rematch and faces him once again this year.

Every race was close, too close for certainty on election night. Of Suzio, Bartolomeo said, “He still hasn't conceded from the first time.”

As she spoke, Martha Dean, a former GOP nominee for attorney general, waved a Suzio sign and told voters, “He’s a good man.”

"Hold your nose and fill in the dot"

Dianne Grenier held her hands a foot apart to illustrate: It’s the size of her list of reasons not to vote for Hillary Clinton.

The problem is, she has a list that’s just as long of reasons not to vote for Donald J. Trump.

“I felt neither one was even close to ideal,” the Andover resident said.

Grenier doesn’t think it’s right to vote for a third-party candidate. And not voting wasn’t an option.

So she did what she figures a lot of people did: “Hold your nose and fill in the dot.” She decided to vote for the first female president, despite her misgivings about Clinton.

“No matter who wins, I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of people happy,” she said.

To Grenier, who retired after 40 years as an engineer at Pratt & Whitney, this election is reminiscent of the races Richard M. Nixon won in spite of the fact that few people ever admitted voting for him.

“Give us a year and see how many say they voted for whoever wins,” she said.

During a forum at the senior center, it was the first question: Which presidential candidate will you pick?

Marchetti’s answer has been that she wasn’t sure who she would pick, that it’s a privilege to vote in privacy, and that she didn’t see how her vote in a presidential contest would affect how she would represent her constituents.

Her thought process: The person asking could be a Democrat trying to trip her up or a Republican who would call her out if she didn’t support the party’s nominee. And if not saying cost her a vote, there’s nothing she could do about it.

(Although Marchetti made up her mind by Tuesday, she said she didn’t feel comfortable saying who she had voted for.)

Once conversations with voters got past the national elections, they seemed to go better, she said. “The one issue everybody has is money matters,” she said, citing the cost of living in the state and taxes. A former Glastonbury Board of Education and Town Council member, she emphasized her willingness to work hard on the problems with people from both parties and her track record of working with others.

Marchetti spent the morning in Glastonbury before stopping at a cookout outside Bolton Town Hall, where the local Republicans were holding a cookout.

Her sense of how this election will turn out?

“Honestly, I don’t have a sense of it at all because of the national election. Anything can happen,” she said.

Petit, Boukus optimistic as key 22nd District race winds down

In one of the key races in the battle to control the state House Representatives, the 22nd Assembly District contest between incumbent Democrat Betty Boukus and GOP challenger Dr. William Petit — both from Plainville – optimism was running high on both sides on Election Day.

Petit, a home invasion survivor with a national profile, was tagged early on as a strong challenger to Boukus, a 22-year veteran and co-chair of the legislature’s powerful bonding subcommittee.

Despite his background, and a historically contentious presidential race that threatened to overwhelm all other debates, Petit said he was pleased his contest, for the most part, focused on challenges facing his district and the state.

Dr. William Petit and supporter Nancy Blanchette of Bristol at Our Lady of Mercy parish center in Plainville.

“One of the most common comments was, ‘Boy, is the presidential contest a mess’ and many voters didn’t know what to do,” Petit said while greeting voters Tuesday morning outside a local polling place, Our Lady of Mercy parish center in Plainville. “But I think, for the most part, we really spent our time talking about local issues.”

Petit, who estimated he knocked on 7,000 to 8,000 doors during his campaign, centered much of his message on the need for greater fiscal responsibility.

“The most common theme we heard over and over again was that it was time for a change,” and that state government needs to get its finances in order, Petit said.

But Boukus said she believes one of her big accomplishments over the past year was to muster overwhelming bipartisan support for a plan to cancel nearly $1 billion in state borrowing.

And though a recent bout with pneumonia kept her from a local chamber of commerce-sponsored debate, Boukus told The Mirror Tuesday morning that, “I’m still here on the phone, day and night, talking to people. I’m excited and I’m ready to go.”

The incumbent Democrat said, “I’m so proud of that” effort to streamline the state’s credit card, an exercise that earned Boukus praise and support from Democrats and Republicans alike.

“It was not easy to vote for, and it was not an easy thing to do,” she said. “But we got it done.”

What are your top three issues?

Students from Eastern Connecticut State University are surveying voters as they leave the polls to find out what issues are most important to them.

Slips of blue paper identifying a long list of issues are being handed to voters as they leave the polls: Social welfare programs, immigration, environment/climate change, women's rights, racial inequality, education, etc.

Here are two of the surveying students, Thomas Willingham of East Hartford and Adilsa Encarnacao of Waterbury.

Millenials at UConn energized by this election

Loretta Waldman, a writer forUConn Today, reports that Millenials at the University of Connecticut have been fired up by this election and helped at about 3,000 new voters to the rolls in Mansfield where they vote.

Newspaper endorsement scorecard: Clinton 7, Trump 1, No one 2

Here's a tally for which presidential candidate the 10 largest newspapers in Connecticut endorsed.

Hillary Clinton won seven, Donald Trump one and two newspapers gave no one the nod.

The Hartford Courant wrote, the candidates "are not even in the same ballpark. Critics though she may have, Mrs. Clinton is a smart, compassionate leader. Mr. Trump is a showman whose act is regrettably playing well on Main Street. It is a dangerous act and must be ended."

The Waterbury Republican American gave an anti-Clinton endorsement for Trump.

"Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are the worst nominees in memory," they wrote. "Mr. Trump is no prize, either. Since the outset of the campaign, he has made headlines with bizarre, offensive and juvenile remarks. He also has demonstrated ignorance on policy... However, in light of Mrs. Clinton’s appalling record and personal qualities, Mr. Trump should get the nod."

The New Haven Register for the first time in its history "decided this year not to endorse a presidential candidate." because of all the scandals that surround both of them.

The Journal Inquirer never endorses presidential candidates, and didn't feel inspired to change that this time around.

Want to read the endorsements, and non-endorsements? Click below on a newspaper below.

Hillary supporter: "I wake up frightened."

Elaine Kahaner was upbeat as she walked out of her polling place with longtime friend Dorothy Horwitz. She sported a Hillary hat and a sticker declaring that she’d voted. “It’s really quite wonderful to see so many people out voting,” Kahaner said.

Elaine Kahaner, left, and Dorothy Horwitz

Kahaner said she was an early Clinton supporter. She liked what the former secretary of state had done in the world.

Asked about how she was feeling about the election, though, Kahaner’s tone changed. “I’m very frightened. I wake up frightened,” she said.

Of what?

The demagoguery, she said. “The Republican candidate has given permission for people to express their bigotry and prejudices.” And she said she worries that people will never allow the facts to interfere with their beliefs.

As Kahaner spoke to a reporter, another woman walked by, then turned around and addressed Kahaner: “I voted for Hillary,” she declared.

Spiderman’s dad votes for justice

Sal Motta showed up to vote, but asked about the choice, he looked pained. The Manchester resident was more motivated by local issues than the presidential race, but said he was frustrated that so much focus had been on the presidential race and so little information was available about local issues.

“Now more than ever, I feel like we don’t even have any idea who the right person is,” Motta said as he waited in line to vote at Highland Park Elementary School.

In fact, until he got in line, Motta said, he wasn’t sure who he’d vote for. In the end, he decided the most important thing was stability in the world, rather than going in a wild new direction.

So which candidate represented that to him?

Motta declined to say. Instead, he pointed to his 2-year-old son, who joined him in line wearing a Spiderman costume.

Turned off by presidential race, but hopeful about local politics?

More than 1,300 people voted at Manchester's Highland Park Elementary School by 10 a.m. – a high turnout, poll workers said. The line was still out the door.

The turnout surprised Samantha Tweedie, 28, who stood outside the school with a sign that read, “Vote for my dad Mark Tweedie.” Her dad is a Republican state representative seeking re-election.

Samantha Tweedie said she’d expected a lighter turnout because people seemed so fed up with the presidential election. “They’re just exhausted by the negativity,” she said.

But perhaps people still have some hope for local politics, she added.

State Sen. Steve Cassano, a Democrat seeking his fourth term, was also impressed by the turnout at the school, his polling place.

“Literally around the world, people are watching us very, very carefully because there’s fear,” he said.

How did the presidential election affect local campaigns?

Cassano said there’s always a concern about being overshadowed, particularly given the volume of television ads. And that, along with the hostility in the presidential race, led his campaign to work harder at reaching voters door-to-door, he said.

Dems greet the public in Mansfield

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; State Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly; and State Rep. Gregg Haddad, D-Mansfield, took advantage of warm morning sunshine and a busy poll to greet the public outside the Mansfield Community Center.

This poll is the one where thousands of University of Connecticut students will vote throughout the day, and one at which students from Eastern Connecticut State University were conducting an exit survey to learn which issues (not which candidates) were most important to voters.

Malloy too is glad Election Day is here

In a year when the normal rhythms of politics fell away, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was mindful of voting rituals Tuesday morning as he arrived with his wife, Cathy, to vote at the Hartford Seminary, his polling place in the West End of Hartford.

“I think we take elections as both obligations, but also a revered ritual,” Malloy said.

For Malloy, that means voting at 7:30 a.m. at the seminary, his polling place since moving into the Executive Residence in 2011. Two years ago, in his own re-election, voting was delayed by a missing list of voters. This year, as he put it, there were no “hiccups.”

He was of the same mind as many voters of both parties.

“This a hard fought contest. It got nasty at times. It got strange and bizarre at at times,” Malloy said. “There were ups and downs, but you know, listen, this has played itself out over a two-year period of time. Let’s get the thing done.”

Report of voter ID dispute in New Britain

Reminder: To report suspected voting fraud or voting rights problems, call 1-866-733-2463. It will be staffed by the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) during polling hours on Election Day.

Update: The Office of the secretary of the state said they would look into this report. The moderator at the New Britain polling place, Lucien Zysk, said later Tuesday that some question had arisen with two voters but that it hadn't concerned an ID and that all of the workers at the polls understood that driver's licenses that are not valid for federal identification are nonetheless valid for voting.

WaPost:Voter turnout high in East Coast

WASHINGTON — It's not a phenomenon limited to Connecticut.

The Washington Post is reporting long lines at East Coast polling sites, "suggesting voters could push turnout to new levels in some places, even as many decried the campaign’s harsh and bitter tones."

Some suggestions for election day

A record 2.1 million Connecticut residents are registered to vote, so it may be a little crowded at the state’s 760 or so polling places. Here's some things you might not have known.

Selfies are OK

Unofficial or official campaign garb is off limits within the polls

Check your voting status beforehand

If you voted by absentee ballot and have changed your mind, you do have a limited opportunity for a do-over

The State Elections Enforcement Commission operates an elections hotline, starting at 5:30 a.m. on election day. Call 1-866-733-2463 or send an email toelections@ct.govif you want to report on fraud or voting rights abuse

This election: A couple of Election Day firsts

Connecticut residents can look forward to two firsts this Election Day.

Forgot to register to vote? This is the first presidential election for which residents can sign up to vote on Election Day. (See designated locations.)

Want the results from the source? The secretary of the state is planning to post live results for the first time. (See results here.) "It's a year of firsts," said Patrick Gallahue, spokesman for the state's election chief.

Larson to distribute Starbucks to activists at polls

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. John Larson said he will dispatch his campaign workers to polls throughout the 1st District Tuesday to hand out Starbucks coffee in "green unity cups" to activists of all parties camped outside polling places in an effort to bring peace to a nasty, divisive campaign season.

Larson said he is following the lead of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, a supporter of Democrat Hillary Clinton, who sent his employees a letter urging them to embrace "respect and dignity" in the face of an "epic, unseemly election."

In his letter, Schultz called for Americans to “embrace the universal virtues of respect and dignity, refusing to allow the hatred on cable news, the ugliness of our politics, and the lack of political role models for our kids to define us and to dictate how we treat each other.”

"Whatever our
political differences, we are all Americans,” Larson said. “We all
deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I commend Starbucks and the
leadership of Howard Schultz for reminding us to listen to our better angels—not
partisan bickering."

Larson said the coffee would be distributed to all representatives of political parties at the polling stations whether they belong to the Republican, Democratic,,
Libertarian or Green parties.

"We all want the best for our families, our communities, and
our country, and it is important to remember what unites us rather than what
divides us," Larson said.

Larson is running for re-election to represent the Hartford-based 1st District against GOP candidate Matthew Corey and Green Party candidate Mike DeRosa.

Clinton-Trump battle overshadows CT's down-ballot races

On the last weekend before voters go to the polls, the same question gnawed at Republican Andrew Falvey in Cheshire and Democrat Laura Bartok in Bristol, each a candidate in competitive state House districts. Were their presidential nominees a help or hindrance to them and other down-ballot candidates?

New Haven election fiasco repeat looms

State officials had to conduct last minute training last week on how to conduct Election Day Registration in New Haven since the city's registrars failed to participate in three previous training sessions. Officials said they also noticed that New Haven's registrar's office might be understaffed and might not have enough ballots.

In 2014, about 100 people did not get to vote because the registrars could not sign them up before the cutoff of 8 p.m. This year, during a presidential election, officials anticipate a much larger crowd.

Explore campaign fundraising for General Assembly candidates

Candidates for the Connecticut General Assembly collectively raised more than $700,000 in campaign funds leading up to this November’s election, according to data obtained on June 8.

Gail Lavielle, a third-term Republican incumbent from the 143rd District, raised the most of any state House candidate, pulling in $9,790. State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, a Democrat from the 25th District, topped his chamber’s list with $19,430.

Esty and Cope disagree, if amiably, on gun control and climate change

Danbury — America’s approach to regulating the sale of guns was the brightest line dividing U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, and Republican Clay Cope, Oct. 13 in the first debate of a quiet congressional campaign that’s often seemed lost in the clamor enveloping Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton.

CCM tries to increase fall campaigns' focus on urban poverty

Connecticut’s urban centers are shackled by unemployment, homelessness and other poverty indicators that dwarf those of surrounding suburbs, the state’s chief municipal lobbying group wrote Monday in a bulletin to state legislative candidates.

Blumenthal-Carter contest a quiet race in a stormy election year

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, left, and State Rep. Dan Carter.

Washington – While the odds that Sen. Richard Blumenthal will be re-elected are among the highest in this year's U.S. Senate races, he’s also under constant fire from a Republican opponent, state Rep. Dan Carter, who has laid siege to the popular Democrat.

Blumenthal: Comey’s comments 'cryptic' and actions ‘highly unusual’

Washington – Calling the move “highly unusual,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal weighed in on FBI Director James Comey’s decision to tell Congress that his agency may have found more emails from Hillary Clinton’s private server.

Elite group in CT raising millions for Clinton

Washington – An exclusive group of about two dozen Connecticut residents has raised millions of dollars to help put Hillary Clinton in the White House. These mostly wealthy contributors – after reaching their personal federal contribution caps of $2,700 for a primary and $2,700 for a general election – have “bundled” contributions, which means they have turned to friends, associates and anyone else willing to give to a candidate.

CT lawmakers spend millions fending off underfunded foes

Washington – Boosted by their success at fundraising, members of the all-Democratic Connecticut delegation to the House of Representatives have spent a total of nearly $5 million to stave off woefully underfunded challengers this year.

Emil Frankel joins other Bush appointees opposing Trump

Emil Frankel, a former Connecticut transportation commissioner, is among the former transportation and environmental appointees of President George W. Bush to sign a letter opposing the election of Donald J. Trump, calling him an affront to Republican values and a threat to environmental and transportation safety.

If Democrats win, Matt Ritter to be next CT House majority leader

The leadership of the state House Democratic caucus is set for 2017 -- so long as the Democrats do not lose more than 11 seats on Nov. 8, when all 151 seats in the House are up for election. Rep. Toni E. Walker, D-New Haven, has dropped out of the race for majority leader, conceding the contest to Rep. Matthew D. Ritter, D-Hartford.

Murphy, other gun control advocates, see ally in Clinton

Washington – This political season, gun control advocates are bolstered by Hillary Clinton’s embrace of their issue and an increase in the political cash they've raised, even as they continue to be outgunned by the National Rifle Association when it comes to campaign spending.

Business, labor bet big on fight for CT Capitol

Business groups intent on boosting the influence of Republicans in the General Assembly outspent labor allies of majority Democrats by roughly a 2-1 margin in independent expenditures reported to the State Elections Enforcement Commission through Tuesday, according to an analysis by CT Mirror.